Split column package storage mechanism for cigarette vending machine



March 3, 1970 H. R. CRAVEN. JR, ET AL 3,498, 48

SPLIT COLUMN PACKAGE STORAGE MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE Filed March 27, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 20 JFK I 132 N I30 7a Herman R. raven 80/69 A. Andrews William J. Van Wye March va, 1910 4 H, R, CRAVEN, 4R EIAL, 3,498,498

SPLIT COLUMN PACKAGE STORAGE MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE Fzled March 27, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Herman H. Craven Boleg A. Andrews William J. Van Wye /6 32 .1. BY W 414-42, w W5 A ORNEYS- March 3, 1970 R CRAVEN, ETAL 3,498,498

SPLIT COLUMN PACKAGE STORAGE MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE Filed March 27, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.4.

? lul wo m m .lmihm. W 58 INVENTORS. Herman R. Craven Bq/ey 4. Andrews William J. Van Wye BY JQ {diam 5%RNEYS.

United States Patent "ice 3,498,498 SPLIT COLUMN PACKAGE STORAGE MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE VEND- ING MACHINE Herman R. Craven, Jr., Prairie Village, Boley A. An-

drews, Shawnee Mission, and William J. Van Wye, Overland Park, Kans., assignors to The Vendo Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Mar. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 716,377 Int. Cl. B6511 3/42; G07f 11/46 US. Cl. 221-129 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cigarette vending machine having a plurality of upright, elongated columns arranged in banks and adapted to hold stacks of packages, each column having its corresponding package ejector. The ejectors and columns are relatively movable to permit selective ejection of a package from any desired column by L-shaped pushers during each cycle of operation of the machine. One bank is comprised of a stationary section and a swingable section, the combined lengths of the aligned columns of both sections being no greater than the lengths of the respective columns of the other banks but affording the capability of handling double the number of different brands in that one bank as in the other banks which have full length columns.

This invention relates to vending machines and, more particularly, to a machine for vending an article such as a package of cigarettes from any of a number of stacks of articles upon operation of the machine responsive to deposit in the machine of predetermined value.

It is quite conventional for machines of this type to be provided with banks of elongated columns, each column holding a separate stack of articles, whereupon shifting of a corresponding ejector pushes an article from a preselected one of the stacks. The article is thereupon delivered to the customer. Each column may hold a particular kind of article such as a given brand of cigarettes, so that the customer may be provided with a choice of brands which is limited only by the number of separate columns available in the machine.

The distinct preference which customers have for their own particular choice of brands of cigarettes requires that the vending machine be capable of offering a selection of as many different brands as possible. Thus, the number of different brands of cigarettes available on the market and desired to be offered in a vending machine has traditionally exceeded the number of different columns available in the machine. Overall size limitations set for the vending machine necessarily limits the space available for article storage columns. As a result, it has either been necessary to curtail the different choices offered to the customer or to exceed the overall machine size limitations considered desirable.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a vending machine having an increased number of article storage columns to effect a corresponding increase in the number of selections offered to the customer, without any appreciable increase in the space required for the columns. In the achievement of the foregoing object, it is also an important object of this invention to present article storage columns which are split intermediate their lengths to present a fixed bank of columns underlying a novel, swingable bank so that the swinging movement of the upper bank permits access for top loading of articles into the columns of the lower bank.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of an article storage column which is swingable Patented Mar. 3, 1970 through a path of travel above and in relatively close proximity to a lower fixed storage column so that the ejector means for the swingable column can be mounted directly to the fixed column to minimize the space required for the dispensing apparatus for the upper. column.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a novel pusher configured to engage a substantial portion of an article to be ejected, but of less complex and more economical design than conventional T-shaped pushers to permit simplification of the construction of the article storage columns and simplification of the tooling required for producing the column structure and the pushers.

These and other important objects of the invention will be further explained or will become apparent from the following specification and claims and in the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, detailed, vertical cross-sectional view through the article storage and vending structure of a vending machine embodying the principles of this invention taken immediately in front of the rear cross braces and looking toward the front of the machine, the components being shown in half cycle position;

FIG. 2 is a detailed, vertical, cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1, the components being shown in standby position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view of one of the carrier-mounted ejector assemblies and its associated bank of article storage columns, one of the ejectors being shown in its advanced position, parts being broken away and shown in cross section to reveal details of construction;

FIG. 4 is a detailed, fragmentary, horizontal crosssectional view on the same scale as FIG. 3 and showing generally that portion of the machine shown in FIG. 3, parts being broken away to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along irregular line 5-5 of FIG. 3, showing an ejector shifted relative to the corresponding column, an article to be dispensed being shown in phantom.

Apparatus for vending articles from a vending machine is broadly designated by the numeral 10 and includes an exterior frame comprising a pair of opposed, upright side panels 12 and 14 interconnected by a bottom panel 16 and rear panels 18 and 20. A top member 22 which may be integral with rear panel 18 interconnects sides 12 and 14 at the upper rear edge of apparatus 10.

Apparatus 10 includes fixed article storage structure 24, a movable article storage structure 26, and a carrier 28 mounted on the frame of apparatus 10 for movement relative to the fixed storage structure 24. Carrier 28 has a plurality of article ejecting assemblies 30 mounted thereon for movement therewith and an ejecting assembly 32 is mounted on stationary structure 24 adjacent the path of travel of movable structure 26.

The stationary article storage structure 24 includes banks of article storage columns designated 34, 36 and 38 respectively. Each bank includes a plurality of sideby-side, horizontally spaced, vertically extending articlereceiving columns 40. The columns 40 of each bank are defined by vertically extending, transversely Z-shaped divider panels 42 (FIG. 4) interconnected by front and back, horizontally extending members 44 and 46. The outermost end columns 40 of each bank are closed by end panels 48 of transversely U-shaped configuration as illustrated in FIG. 4. Each of the intermediate panels 42 has an inturned flange 50 extending partially across the front of the column, and the oppositely directed end flange 52 of the adjacent panel 42 extends partially across the rear of the column 40. The flanges 50 and 52 prevent 3 fore and aft shifting of the stack of articles in the columns 40 until the articles are individually ejected from the storage columns. Vending apparatus is primarily intended for packages of cigarettes and the columns 40 are of the appropriate size and shape to hold the same in vertical stacked relationship.

One of the panels 42 or 48 defining a side of each column 40 is bent laterally across the end of the respective column to define an end retaining shelf or element 54 adapted to receive the end article of a stack thereof and to support the articles against vertical shifting movement. It is to be noted that each element 54 terminates in a longitudinally extending, marginal edge 56 which is horizontally spaced from the proximal panel 42 or 48 forming the adjacent side of the corresponding column. Further, the lowermost edges of vertically extending flanges 50 and 52, as Well as the flanges of end panels 48, terminate in vertically spaced relationship above the elements 54. Manifestly, the vertical spacing between the lowermost edges of the flanges and the upper surface of element 54 is sufficient to permit the longitudinal shifting of a package of cigarettes from each of the columns responsive to relative shifting movement between the column and its corresponding ejector means as will be hereinafter more fully explained. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the lower corners 58 of the front flanges 50 are bent outwardly so that they will not damage or cause the individual article packages to hang up in the column.

As illustrated best in FIGS. 1 and 2, carrier 28 includes a pair of spaced-apart, stepped end panels 60 interconnected by a flanged, channel member 62. Transversely U-shaped members 64 rigidly secured to the side panels 12 and 14 respectively extend horizontally and are provided with longitudinal slots 66 defining track means extending fore and aft of apparatus 10 beneath structure 24 and adapted to carry carrier 28 for movement on rollers 68 (FIG. 2). The rearmost rollers 68 adjacent the respective end panels 60 are provided with cogs 70 which are engageable with corresponding elongated racks 72 rigidly secured to the respective members 64 below slots 66. A horizontally extending rod 74 is rigidly secured to each cogged roller 68 and interconnects the same. Rod 74 is journalled in each of the end panels 60 so that the engaged cogs and racks 72 restrict carrier 28 to a rectilinear fore and aft path of travel and prevent any tendency of one end panel 60 to become misaligned with respect to the other end panel 60 during such reciprocal movement.

Carrier 28 is reciprocated along its rectilinear path of travel by a motor 76 which is mounted on a support 78 rigidly secured to bottom panel 16. An eccentric 80 coupled to motor 76 through gear reduction means 81 is pivotally coupled with an operating arm 82 which is, in turn, pivotally coupled at the opposite end to the lowermost end of a bar 84 comprised of a pair of spaced-apart, rigid, downwardly extending angle members 86 secured at the uppermost ends thereof to channel member 62. Manifestly, operation of motor 76 causes fore and aft movement of carrier 28 by virtue of the connection of bar 84 to eccentric 80 through arm 82.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it may be seen that the front bank 38 of article storage columns is longer than the intermediate bank 36. Further, the rearmost stationary bank 34 of support columns terminates at its lower end in vertically spaced relationship above the lowermost end of bank 36. Each of the banks 34-38 has its corresponding ejector assembly 30 mounted on carrier 28 at a corresponding position on the carrier so that the assemblies 30 are reciprocated immediately beneath the lowermost end of the corresponding bank during each reciprocation of carrier 28 along its path of travel.

Referring now primarily to FIGS. 3-5, each assembly 30 includes an irregular member 88 configured as illustrated in cross section in FIG. 5 and spanning the distance across carrier 28. A solenoid 90 for each column 40 is mounted on member 88 directly beneath its corresponding column 40 and includes a coil 92, an armature 94 of magnetic material, and an ejector 96 secured to armature 94 and movable with the latter.

Ejector 96 includes an elongated rod 98 which may be received in the central aperture of coil 92 and about which a tubular magnetic armature 94 may be received so that shifting of armature 94 within coil 92 advances a U- shaped pusher 100 from a standby position to an articleejccting position. Pusher 100 includes a horizontally extending leg 102 integral with a vertically extending neck 104 which is, in turn, integral with a horizontal section 106 carried at the uppermost end of rod 98. As illustrated best in FIGS. 3 and 5, leg 102 underlies horizontally extending end element 54 beneath its respective column 40 when ejector 96 is in its standby position. On the other hand, upon energization of solenoid 90, the corresponding ejector 96 is advanced upwardly to the position illus trated for that ejector located second from the left in FIG. 3 of the drawings. In this advanced position, it should be noted that neck 104 of the ejector is aligned with the slot defined between the outermost edge 56 of end element 54 and the adjacent column. The horizontal leg 102 of ejector 96 is disposed to extend across column 40 in vertically spaced relationship a'bove element 54 in disposition whereby relative movement of the ejector and its corresponding column will push the end article from a stack thereof rearwardly of the column and olf the supporting element 54. Manifestly, the ejected article will gravitate to a downwardly and forwardly inclined chute 108 spanning the distance beneath the respective stationary and movable article storage structures 24 and 26 whereupon the article gravitates along the chute for delivery to a customer accessible station 110.

Each assembly 30 includes an elongated latch bar 112 carried on the front face of member 88 by ears 114 received within corresponding slots 116 in member 88 to permit limited pivoting of bar 112 with respect to member 88. Springs 118 secured to member 88 and disposed at the front surface of bar 112 yieldably bias the latter to the position illustrated in FIG. 5, yet permit swinging of bar 112 away from the front face of member 88. Retainers 129 disposed at spaced intervals along bar 112 and secured to member 88 limit the extent of movement of bar 112 with respect to the member.

Integral, upwardly extending latch members 122 are carried by bar 112 and cooperate with an inclined surface 124 of section 106 of the ejector 96 to latch each pusher 100 in the article-ejecting position after the same has been advanced to said position by solenoid 90. Manifestly, surface 124 engages the forward inclined lip of latch 122 during upward shifting movement of the ejector 96. This causes the bar 112 to be tilted outwardly from the front face of member 88 and against the bias of springs 118. As soon as ejector 96 has moved to the position illustrated in FIG. 5, latch 122 slips under the lowermost edge of inclined surface 124 and is moved rearwardly by springs 118. The uppermost edge of the latch 122 engages beneath the horizontal section 106 of the ejector 96 to hold the latter in the article-ejecting position.

Each bar 112 includes a U-shaped portion 126 extending longitudinally of the bar and projecting laterally beyond the ends of the other portions of the bar. The projecting portion 126 is disposed to engage a cantilevered spring 128 which depends from a bracket 130 mounted on the inner surface of side panel 12 of apparatus 10. After ejector assembly 30 has shifted a predetermined distance with respect to its corresponding bank of article storage columns in the ejecting cycle, projecting portion 126 of bar 112 engages its corresponding spring 128 to tilt bar 112 away from the front face of member 88. This disengages latch 122 from beneath the advanced ejector 96 to permit the latter to drop to its normal standby position. Manifestly, each spring 128 is disposed with respect to the corresponding article storage structures at a position to cause the disengaging of latch 122 from its ejector supporting position when pusher 100 is at its half-stroke position advanced beyond and clearing element 54.

Each bank of article storage columns is provided with an elongated cancel bar 132 having integral arms 134 disposed at each end of the corresponding bank. Arms 134 are pivoted by pins 136 to brackets 140 mounted on the proximal end panels 48 of the article storage bank. Pins 136 are received intermediate the lengths of arms 134 whereby upward tilting of bar 132 moves an arm 134 downwardly against an electrical switch 138 mounted on one of the brackets 140. Only switches 138 for banks 36 and 38 are illustrated in FIG. 2, it being understood that an identical switch 138 is provided for bank 34 and is disposed at the end thereof opposite to that illustrated in FIG. 2. Cancel bar switches 138 are electrically coupled through circuitry (not shown) to the coin controlled mechanism of the vending machine. When an article is ejected from its respective column 40, the shifting of the article from the storage column as illustrated in FIG. 5, causes upward tilting of the corresponding bar 132 and consequent operation of the associated cancel bar switch 138 to reset the coin controlled mechanism of the vending machine as required following delivery of an article to the customer. Subsequent operation of the vending apparatus through a vending cycle must await another deposit of coins of predetermined value in the machine.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it may be seen that movable structure 26 may be identical with structure 24 with the exception that the bank 142 of article storage columns is substantially shorter and is pivotally secured to side panels 12 and 14 by bracket means 144 disposed at each end of bank 142 and immediately above bank 34. Elongated, angled arms 146 at each end of bank 142 are pivotally connected at their lowermost ends to carrier 28 by respective slots 148 which cooperates with pins 150 projecting outwardly from the panels 60.

Arms 146 are pivoted at their other ends to bank 142 intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof by bolts 152 which pass through elongated slot 154 in each arm 146. Movement of carrier 28 to the opposite end of its path of travel from the position illustrated in FIG. 2, produces a corresponding swinging of bank 142 to the position thereof illustrated by dotted lines in FIG. 2 by virtue of the pivotal connection of arms 146 intermediate their ends to brackets 156. The latter are rigidly secured to the corresponding adjacent side panels 12 and 14 respectively.

Ejector assembly 32 for bank 142 is rigidly secured to the rear face of stationary bank 34 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Assembly 32 may be identical to assemblies 30 with the exception that retainers 120 are not required for assembly 32 inasmuch as the adjacent horizontally extending brace structure for bank 34 which interconnect the vertical panels thereof, serves to limit the extent of swinging movement of latch bar 112. Further, spring 128 which cooperates with projecting portion 126 of assembly 32 is carried by the swinging bank 142 whereby predetermined swinging of bank 142 with respect to assembly 32 brings spring 128 into contact with projection 126 for assembly 32 and releases any advanced pushers in identical fashion to that heretofore explained with respect to the assemblies 30.

In operation, each of the columns 40 are filled with stacks of articles to be vended. Each column 40 is adapted to receive a particular brand of cigarettes and each solenoid 90 is electrically coupled with a selector switch (not shown) the operating push button of which may form a part of a console which is disposed in a customer accessible position at the front of the vending machine. Suitable indicia associated with each push button indicates the particular brand of cigarettes contained in the column 40 associated with the solenoid coupled with that push button, all as is conventional in vending machines of this type.

The coin controlled mechanism for the vending machine forms no part of this invention per se and has, therefore, not been illustrated in the drawings. Suflice it to say that such mechanism is operably coupled wi.h motor 76 whereby the latter will operate to move carrier 28 and structure 26 through a single cycle upon the deposit in the machine of coins of a predetermined value.

Upon deposit of sufficient money into the machine and the pushing of one of the selector buttons, the corresponding solenoid is energized, whereupon its associated ejector 96 is advanced to its article ejecting position. It should be noted at this point, that the ejector is not aligned vertically with its associated column 40. As soon as the ejector is in its article-ejecting position, the coin-controlled mechanism prevents energizing of any of the other solenoids 90 so that only One ejector may be advanced to the ejecting position during any operation of the vending apparatus through a single cycle. Manifestly, the customer could select any of the push buttons for ejecting an article from any of the columns 40.

Operation of motor 76 is begun only after the ejector is in its article-ejecting position. The motor shifts the carrier 28 to the opposite extreme end of its reciprocal path of travel and back to its original position during a cycle of operation. Bank 142 of columns 40 swings responsive to the movement of arms 146 caused by the movement of carrier 28. The movement of bank 142 is, however, in the opposite direction to that of carrier 28. Thus, there is relative movement between every article storage column 40 of vending apparatus 10 and its associated ejector during each cycle of operation of the machine. As carrier 28 is shifted toward the left end of its path of travel as viewed in FIG. 2, the relative shifting movement causes the lowermost article of the stack thereof to be ejected from the column by the extended ejector as illustrated in FIG. 5. The article gravitates onto chute 108 and thence to the customer accessible station 110. Projecting portion 126 of latch bar 112 engages spring 128 at the half cycle position and ejector 96 is released from its locked position for return to its standby position as heretofore explained. Thus, all of the 'ejectors of apparatus 10 are in the standby position on the return stroke.

Obviously, the relative movement between bank 142 and its associated ejector assembly 32 is substantially similar to that described with respect to assemblies 30. However, in this case, the bank 142 moves relative to the stationary ejectors. Any advanced ejector of assembly 32, however, pushes out the article from the corresponding column 40 of bank 142 in a manner which is virtually identical to that described with respect to the pushers of the assemblies 30.

The swinging of bank 142 with respect to its ejector assembly 32 provides an additional bank of columns 40 for permitting a corresponding additional number of selections to the customer. Since each column may contain a separate brand of cigarettes, the additional columns afforded by swinging bank 142 provide a wider variety of brand selection than would otherwise be available in the vending machine. It should be noted also, that the provision of the additional bank 142 is made without a corresponding increase in the front-to-back space required for the vending apparatus. The relatively short length of the columns of banks 34 and 142 respectively, results from the provision of two banks in the space which might otherwise be utilized for a single, relatively long bank. This short column length reduces the volume or number of packages which may be stored in any one of the shorter columns. However, these relatively short columns may be utilized for the storage of less popular brands than are stored in the longer columns of banks 36 and 38. By selecting low sales volume brands for storage in the shortest columns, the operator of the vending machine may insure that sufiicient packages are maintained in each column to meet the demand for the various brands without the necessity for excessive operator attention.

It will be obvious to those skilled in this art that it is not absolutely essential that an entire row of side-by-side storage column structures be split intermediate their lengths as illustrated and described with respect to banks 26 and 34. Rather, the swingable bank 26 might extend for only a portion of the total width of the fixed bank 34. In such case, the remaining columns 40 of bank 34, not underlying the swinging bank 26, would extend full length to a height even with the top of bank 26. The proximal end of the swinging bank 26 would then be pivoted to the adjacent full length column of bank 34.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Vending apparatus comprising:

a stationary structure;

a movable structure, each of said stationary and movable structures being adapted to receive a stock of articles to be vended;

a carrier movable along a path of travel adjacent one end of the stationary structure;

ejector means for each structure respectively, each ejector means being selectively advanceable from a standby position to an ejecting position disposed to engage an end article of a corresponding stack for ejecting the article from the respective structure upon relative movement between the ejector means and its corresponding structure, the ejector means corresponding to the stationary structure being mounted on the carrier for movement therewith;

means for moving the carrier relative to the stationary structure and for moving the movable structure with respect to the other ejector means; and

advancing means operably coupled with each ejector means for advancing any selected one of said ejector means from said standby to said ejecting position.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said movable structure is movable along a path of travel to and from a position in general longitudinal alignment with the stationary structure.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the ejector means corresponding to the movable structure is mounted on the stationary structure and adjacent said path of travel of the movable structure.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said carrier is shiftable along a rectilinear path of travel and said movable structure is shiftable along an arcuate path of travel.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said carrier and structure moving means includes an elongated, rigid arm pivotally coupled at respective ends to said movable structure and the carrier, and stationary pivot means secured to the arm intermediate its ends where shifting of the carrier causes a simultaneous shifting of the movable structure.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein each of said structures includes a pair of opposed, spaced-apart sides, and an end element secured to one side and extending toward the other side, said element being adapted to engage the end article to hold the stack within the structure, the outermost edge of the element terminating in spaced relationship from said other side to define a slot therebetween, said ejector means including a neck and an arm extending at an angle from the neck, said neck being aligned with the slot to permit relative movement between the ejector means and the structure with the arm in position to engage said end article when the ejector means is advanced to said ejecting position.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein is included latch means associated with each of said ejector means and disposed to engage the respective ejector means upon 8 advancement thereof for releasably holding the ejector means in said ejecting position, said latch means being operable upon predetermined relative movement between a corresponding structure and its respective ejector means to release the advanced ejector means for return to said standby position.

8. A vending apparatus comprising:

a frame;

stationary structure including a plurality of side-by-side, upright support columns rigidly secured to the frame;

a track carried by the frame beneath said stationary structure;

a carrier mounted on the track for reciprocable shifting movement beneath the stationary structure;

a movable structure including a plurality of side-by-side, generally upright support columns, the columns of said stationary and movable structures being adapted to receive a stack of articles to be vended and each including means engageable with the lowermost article in respective stacks in supporting relationship to the latter;

means pivotally mounting the movable structure on the frame above the stationary structure for swinging movement with respect to the latter and along a path of travel in relatively close proximity to the stationary structure;

an elongated, rigid arm having one end thereof coupled with the movable structure and the other end thereof coupled to the carrier whereby shifting of the carrier simultaneously swings said movable frame;

ejector means for each column respectively, each ejector means being selectively shiftable from a standby position to an ejecting position disposed to engage an end article of a corresponding stack for ejecting the article from the respective column upon relative movement between the ejector means and its corresponding structure;

means mounting the ejector means for said stationary column on said carrier for movement therewith;

means mounting the ejector means for said movable structure on said stationary structure;

prime mover means operably coupled with the carrier for shifting the carrier along said track and simultaneously swinging the movable structure through said path of travel; and

means operably coupled with each ejector means for shifting any selected one of said ejector means from said standby to said ejecting position.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein said arm is pivotally coupled to said carrier and said movable structure, and means pivotally mounting the arm intermediate its ends to said frame whereby shifting movement of said carrier in one direction pivots said arm for swinging the movable structure in the opposite direction.

10. In article ejecting mechanism for a vending machine having a pair of relatively shiftable units, one unit including elongated structure for receiving articles in stacked relationship and having an end support provided with a slot and ejector means mounted on the other of said units, said ejector means including:

an L-shaped pusher provided with a first leg normally spaced longitudinally of the structure outwardly from the end support, and a second leg aligned with said slot; and

pusher advancing means operably coupled with the pusher for shifting the latter from said normal position to an ejecting position with said first leg spaced longitudinally of the structure inwardly of the end support, whereby the first'leg engages the end article of the stack during said relative shifting of the units to eject the article from said stack.

11. Mechanism as set forth in claim 10, wherein said ejector means includes a latch element associated with said pusher for releasably holding the latter in said ejecting position.

12. Mechanism as set forth in claim 11, wherein is included means associated with said latch means for releasing the latter upon a predetermined amount of relative shifting between said units to permit said pusher to return to said normal position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,914,215 11/1959 Neidig 221188 X 3,000,539 9/1961 Danziger et al 221129 STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Eiiaminer US. Cl. X.R. 221188 

